Where to eat in Lausanne: Chez Xu

It’s not an exaggeration when we say that our thoughts are still consumed with last week’s dinner; visions of fried dumplings, crispy honey chicken, and Szechuan beef are dancing in our heads. In fact, as we write these words, we are salivating and wondering how soon would be too soon to pay them another visit.

Mr and Mrs Xu moved here to Lausanne from China ten years ago, when they opened up the first and original Chez Xu in Place du Tunnel (the second location on Rue Petit-Chene is the newest of the two). Mrs Xu was a vegetable farmer and Mr Xu was in the restaurant business when they decided to make the move. And we are so glad they did.

With pages and pages in their menu, it is really difficult to choose just one dish–which is why we recommend going with friends so you can share plates and try a bit of everything (because sharing is caring, amiright?). We decided to ask for recommendations, but also found that looking at the plates pass by and inhaling the sweet aroma of garlic and spices was another effective method of making our decisions. Let’s make one thing clear: at Chez Xu there are no bad decisions.

Based on our experience and having conversations with other Chez Xu enthusiasts, we can wholly recommend the fried dumplings and garlic cucumber salad to start (the seaweed salad is also a popular favorite); the spicy Szechuan beef is out of this world, alongside the crunchy sesame bœuf croustillant and sweetly coated honey lemon chicken. There are also Chez XuFavorites on the menu, which includes its popular soup dish. Bear in mind the portions are quite generous, so be prepared to buckle down (and unbuckle your belt) or take some home (which we found most of our dishes tasted great the following day!).

The restaurant itself is on the smaller scale–make sure to reserve a table regardless of whether you are eating there for lunch or dinner. Also, bring cash as they don’t accept credit or bank cards.

We are so glad to have found authentic, delicious, and affordable Chinese food in Lausanne! Thank you to all of our readers who urged us to review this restaurant–it has rightfully earned its place on our ‘Favorite Restaurants’ list.

Until next time, Chez Xu…and the time after that…and after that…

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Have you eaten at Chez Xu? Which dish should we add to our list for our next visit?

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9 Comments

My alltime favorite Chinese restaurant… Tastes are true, not tamed down. It has ruined me for all the other Chinese restaurants in Switzerland…Try the Agneau au cumin (lamb wirth cumin). I'm no great fan of cumin usually, but this is probably a special cumin (ajwain? I'm not sure), and I could eat that dish every day. The Boeuf piquant (spicy beef) is also a must-try – halfway between a soup and a stew, lots of very spicy beef with vegetables (sometimes celery, sometimes something else I don't have a name for). And the list goes on…And it's cheap, too!

The food was decent…great size portions but I find the service atrocious, even for Swiss standards. I was waiting a good 5 minutes trying to flag someone down to seat me for my reservation (by the way, it is communal seating…I saw a family of 3 have to sit across from a random, at the same table, of another party of 3…talk about awkward when you have food in the middle to share)…The staff kept bumping into our table (almost knocking the food over twice) and the steamed rice came ten minutes after we had our dishes. Maybe takeaway is better? Then you don't have to deal with the rude waitresses.